Eight University of Colorado Colorado Springs faculty members will be featured at First Friday Gallery Talks as part of the university’s Galleries of Contemporary Art biannual visual art faculty exhibition, “New Horizon.”
The public is invited to these free events as part of the downtown Colorado Springs First Friday Art Walk at the GOCA121 gallery, 121 S. Tejon St.
Talks will start at 5:30 p.m. and the events run until 8 p.m. on Nov. 4 and Dec. 2, 2016.
The exhibit will be on display through Dec. 17. Gallery hours are noon-5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, or by appointment.
About the Exhibit
“New Horizon” features the works of eight actively producing artists who teach in the Visual Art program of the Visual and Performing Arts Department at UCCS. Works in sculpture, photography, installation, painting, and participatory media are on display as part of this biannual survey exhibition.
About the artists:
Matt Barton, associate professor and co-director of visual art, Department of Visual and Performing Arts, currently teaches 3D art making at UCCS. Barton received a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from Montana State University and a Master’s in Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver; New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh; the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; the Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico; and the Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh.
Corey Drieth, associate professor and co-director of visual art, Department of Visual and Performing Arts, received undergraduate degrees in philosophy, comparative religious studies and studio art from Colorado State University and a Master’s in Fine Arts in 2004 from the University of North Carolina. Prior to joining UCCS, Drieth taught studio art classes at CSU, the University of North Carolina and the University of Virginia. His work has been exhibited throughout the country, including San Francisco, Chicago, Albuquerque, New Orleans, Washington, D.C. and New York City.
Marina Eckler, instructor, Department of Visual and Performing Arts, studied letterpress printmaking and painting at San Francisco State University and earned a Master’s in Fine Arts from the Maine College of Art. Her work has been exhibited at the Harwood Museum in Taos, New Mexico, The Lab in San Francisco, the ICA Gallery in Portland, Maine, and the New York Art Book Fair. She is co-founder and director of Mountain Fold Books, a nonprofit bookstore for the arts, located in Colorado Springs. She currently teaches two-dimensional art and design.
Pauline Foss, senior instructor, Department of Visual and Performing Arts, received a Master’s in Fine Arts from the Vermont College of Fine Art, a master’s degree in art from Adams State College and bachelor’s in art history from the University of California, Davis. She has received numerous fellowships and awards, including a Colorado Excellence in the Arts Fellowship in 2002 and 2003, and has exhibited her work nationally and regionally.
Abbey Hepner, instructor, Department of Visual and Performing Arts, investigates the ethical gray areas where humanity and technology collide, illuminating the use of health as a currency. She received degrees in art and psychology from the University of Utah and an MFA from the University of New Mexico. Hepner currently teaches photography.
Nikki Pike, instructor, Department of Visual and Performing Arts, starts from the ideals of democracy and works with the following list to guide her artistic practice: making work in public, making the viewer the artist, removing herself as artist, making the art free, making work in collaboration and creating community partners. Pike often references universal necessities of all humans: food, shelter, water, and love. Her approach often involves the employment of play.
Stacy Platt, instructor, Department of Visual and Performing Arts, uses photography to speak about vulnerability, memory, loss and the practice of everyday life. Born to parents who served in the U.S. Air Force, she spent much of her formative years in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and identifies with the South as her childhood home. She received bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a Master’s in Fine Arts from Columbia College of Art.
Claire Rau, senior instructor, Department of Visual and Performing Arts, was born in Sandusky, Ohio. She completed her graduate work at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and teaches sculpture at UCCS. She is the recipient of several awards and residencies, continuing to build upon an extensive exhibition record in the U.S. and internationally. Rau is a founding member of The Front in New Orleans.
GOCA is a regional hub of contemporary art, culture, and conversation. By featuring world-class artists, hosting artist and expert talks, and offering meaningful events, GOCA engages UCCS students, faculty, staff and Pikes Peak Region community members in contemporary culture and life. GOCA is a contemporary arts organization with two galleries, one founded on the UCCS campus in 1981 and a satellite downtown location that opened in 2010 in the Plaza of the Rockies building.
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